Originally Posted by Greco

I'm not going to speak either for, nor against gun ownership. That's an individual issue, but I absolutely can't find any fault in allowing traces of sanity and rational thought to be tied to our right. That statement alone brands me as a bleeding heart liberal in the minds of the pro gun crowd. Senator Tom Coburn once said he didn't see anything wrong with having a neighbor that owned a bazooka. I do. Republican State Senators in Oklahoma are desperately trying to pass new state laws that would allow college kids to carry concealed pistols to class. Not a fan of that one either. There are other examples of common sense links to gun ownership that I support and could cite, but won't. I think I made my point.

In today's issue of The Houston Chronicle, the major newspaper in one of America's largest cities, they published a story that revealed that Texas has experienced a 40% increase in concealed handgun licenses. The Associated Press story indicated that this swell of Texans that want to pack heat has created a backlog in new applications and permit renewals. Tela Mange, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman said, "We're trying really hard, but there have been delays because of the tremendous increase in applications." The state is taking a month longer than the 60 days allowed by law to process original applications, the newspaper reported. Renewals are going 80 days past the mandated 45-day period. Last week alone, the state reported processing 1,043 original applications, but received 1,871 requests. Mange said the department is paying overtime and hiring temporary workers to reduce the backlog.

So who are these people that want to carry a concealed gun? You can't find out. Last year, Republican state lawmakers in Texas granted privacy to the 258,000 licensed gun owners in Texas by closing records that had been public since the concealed handgun law passed in 1995.

Of all the reasons to own a gun and obtain a concealed carry permit, I think I've just come across the most ludicrous. That label, "ludicrous", is my label. Clearly that puts me on the other side of the fence with a large number of individuals. That's ok too. I'm comfortable, at least knowing I'm right, but not so comfortable knowing there's a crowd out there, apparently in significant numbers that feels otherwise. The reason driving this surge in Texas residents that feel they need to carry concealed guns is astounding.

The Houston Chronicle story stated that "handgun instructors point to factors ranging from the looming presidential election to newly strenghtened privacy laws for Texas gun owners." The story quotes Ross Bransford, who trains 1,000 Texans a year to qualify for a concealed handgun licenses, who said he believes "election-year politics are a factor in the spike of applications." He said, "Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, who is leading the race for his party's nomination is a friend of Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy, and that scares everybody to death." Alice Tripp, legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association, said, "They are really quite alarmed and annoyed."

So just the mere thought of the possibility of having a black man, especially one who knows Ted Kennedy, is so terrifying to Texans they feel compeled in waves to make application to arm themselves with concealed guns. It should make all of us pause a few moments to think what kind of a nation we've become.